Sport

Kelleher critical of referee Owens

BYRON KELLEHER, the former All Black and current Toulouse scrumhalf, said that the appointment of referee Nigel Owens to the …

JOHNNY WATTERSON in Cardiff
Mon May 26 2008 - 01:00

BYRON KELLEHER, the former All Black and current Toulouse scrumhalf, said that the appointment of referee Nigel Owens to the Heineken Cup final gave Munster an unfair advantage.

Speaking after the final in the Millennium Stadium, Kelleher was asked about the fact that Owens had refereed Munster five times in the Heineken Cup and that Munster players may have used the knowledge of familiarity during the game. He also said that because of the way the season is organised in France, Munster were much fresher coming into the match as they had taken time off after their Magners League campaign, while Toulouse were still committed to the French Championship.

"I just thought that around the ruck time we were unfortunate with a couple of decisions," said Kelleher. "They've had him for five games and people notice things. But hey, let's not suck on a lemon, that's the way it goes."

Kelleher also said that French rugby needs to change to allow French teams a better chance of winning the Heineken Cup. As it stands, Toulouse were playing domestic matches up to last week and will continue for another several weeks until the end of the season.

READ MORE

"This year with the World Cup as well, the whole season has been compact," said the Kiwi. "The guys have been playing back to back games and a lot of our star players have injuries. They (Munster) could come into the game fresh. Restructure? Definitely. French rugby will have to have a look at the way they structure their competition. Let me put it this way. When was the last time a French club won the Heineken Cup?"

Kelleher declined to be drawn into agreeing with suggestions that Munster's last 20 minutes was boring to watch and that it is not good for rugby on television.

"The Rugby World Cup was played in a similar manner. Teams would just go into a nutshell on the pitch and play boring rugby to win a match. They (Munster) know how to shut down a game and close it off. I'm sure that we would have done the same.

"It's frustrating but we got a couple of penalties our way. We wanted to retain possession, hope to get a penalty and get back level and maybe go into extra time."